HT Correspondent
DIMAPUR, April 23: The Rising People’s Party (RPP) on Wednesday demanded that Nagaland higher education minister Imna Along be relieved of his higher education portfolio over the issue of regularisation of 147 contractual assistant professors and librarians in the state.
The party made the demand, saying it is in the interest of fairness and justice.
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In a statement, the RPP said the minister in charge of an important department such as higher education should be someone who has some semblance of integrity and character.
While the Combined Technical Association of Nagaland (CTAN) and the Nagaland NET Qualified Forum (NNQF) held protests at the directorate of higher education in Kohima over the issue, the Naga Students Federation, on April 21, issued a seven-day ultimatum to the state government to revoke the cabinet decision on regularisation of the contractual assistant professors and librarians.
The RPP pointed that the minister, once upon a time, declared bombastically that henceforth there would be no more appointments from the backdoor, window or the ceiling. However, it said, he has managed to provoke every right-thinking citizen on the issue of regularisation of these assistant professors and librarians today.
The party said though ‘provocateur-in-chief’ Along is the target of everyone’s ire, the Neiphiu Rio’s cabinet is to be equally blamed for the regularisation.
Stressing that the just demand of CTAN and NNQF will have to be fulfilled, it said the delay tactic of the NDDP-led government in constituting a committee to study the ‘147 issue’ is insulting, demeaning and tone deaf.
According to the RPP, for the student community to back off without the issue being settled will have disastrous consequences for the future generation.
